1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a female physical condition managing apparatus which is capable of making a decision about the female physical condition which appears periodically in a female, for example, on the ovulation day, at the time of appearance of the premenstrual syndrome (hereinafter abbreviated as xe2x80x9cPMSxe2x80x9d) for menstruation period or for the pregnancy-possible period.
2. Prior Art
The women""s periodic body condition is related closely with their body temperature. The body temperature transfers from the low-temperature period to the high-temperature period on the ovulation day, and from the high-temperature period to the low-temperature period on the menstruation starting day, as shown in FIG. 1. Women take their body temperature every morning in bed to make manually a graphic record or table showing how the body temperature varies each and every day, thereby making it possible to determine which stage has been reached in the periodic physical condition.
It is necessary that women take their body temperature while laying themselves in bed, and it takes them about five minutes to measure their body temperature with body thermometers. This, however, is difficult to continue for a long time, and women often fall in sleep while taking their body temperature in bed.
A reliable decision can be made about some particular types of female physical condition on the basis of the body temperature, such as determination of the ovulation day, the menstruation period and the pregnancy-possible period, all of which are useful factors for birth control. Determination about whether women undergo the PMS has been increasingly in concern from the point of women""s daily life, but such decision is impossible with recourse to the recording of body temperature. The PMS starts seven days earlier than the beginning of the menstruation period, causing women to suffer from headache, irritation, stomachache, swell or any other unpleasing symptom. When they realize that their unpleasing symptoms are caused simply by the PMS, they can be released from their sufferings significantly.
As a matter of fact determination of the female physical condition from the graphic record of body temperature is difficult, and such determination is apt to be dependent on her discretion.
One object of the present invention is to provide a female physical condition managing apparatus which provides a quick decision on the periodic physical condition including the PMS.
To attain this object a female physical condition managing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a bioelectrical impedance-meter for determining value of bioelectrical impedance; a memory for storing the so determined values of bioelectrical impedance; a decision-making unit for making a decision about the physical or mental condition of a female on the basis of the time series analysis made on the variation of determined values of bioelectrical impedance; and a display showing the physical or mental condition of the female in the form of graphs. Hereinafter, the word, xe2x80x9cbioelectrical impedancexe2x80x9d is abbreviated as xe2x80x9cBIxe2x80x9d.
The mental condition includes at least one of the feeling, the skin condition and the emission of pheromone whereas the physical condition includes at least one of the swell and the body condition.
The graphs may include bar graphs, circle graphs, line graphs and radar charts.
The bar graphs, circle graphs, line graphs and radar charts may be given in two- or three-dimensional form.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description of some preferred embodiments of the present invention.